India can strike trade deals on its own terms, says WEF chief Borge Brende

22-Jan-2026

.

India’s growing economic strength has positioned it to negotiate global trade agreements entirely on its own terms, World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende said while speaking to India Today at the 56th annual meeting of the forum in Davos.

Brende said India’s rise over the past few years has reshaped its leverage in the global economy, giving New Delhi far more room to decide when and with whom it wants to sign trade deals.

He said this confidence is backed by numbers, not rhetoric. “India’s perspective may be more one of big self-confidence now,” he said. “It is the fastest-growing of large economies in the world, contributing to 20% of overall global growth. That is incredible.”

With that scale and momentum, he believes India no longer needs to rush into agreements or act defensively. “India can make deals on trade that are in India’s interest. India will do it when it is in the interest of the long-term development of the country,” he said.